Behind the Curtain
by jubulicious
Summary: There's more to their relationship than others see. Under the surface, they're neither puppets nor dolls, but rather just two simple beings with their own selfish needs. ShiMa-centric. Series of one-shots.
1. Hard to Please

I received a lot of positive feedback from "Her Habit" which I published a few years back. I was actually working on another fic, but I never finished it and then I found it again today when I was looking through the files on my old laptop.

Well guys, I hope you enjoy this, it's pretty short, but I promise you, I'll have another VK fic out soon!

Disclaimer: The characters are NOT mine.

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**Behind the Curtain  
Act 1  
Hard to Please**

Summary:_ It's easy for him to say the two words "I'm sorry," but sometimes that isn't enough to appease her. Sometimes, it takes more than what he expects to receive her forgiveness, but in the end, it's all worth it. Lots of fluff and teasing included. _

"No! Don't come any closer! I know what you touched with those filthy hands!" Rima shouted as he reached out to hold her. Shiki was biting his lip as he pulled her in for a harsh embrace.

"Rima," he started softly.

"Let go of me, you bastard!" He was silent as she continued to scream and pound her fists against his back angrily.

He flinched. She had gotten a lot stronger and her punches would leave some very prominent bruising. The pain was worth it though.

He deserved all of it if it could make her happy again.

He only pulled her in tighter when she changed her tactics and tried to push him away, "Rima, please. Just give me a few seconds to talk."

She ignored him.

"Why can't you leave me alone? Why did you have to run after me?" she cried. All of her energy left her as she stopped resisting and sank down against the wall.

"It was a kiss, Rima. A measly kiss. I didn't enjoy any moment of it," he explained for the third time. "I had to imagine that she was you so that we would get it right on the first try," he added.

She looked at him, her eyes blank, yet full of raging emotions.

"Does it bother you enough to let it affect our relationship? Do you really doubt me that much?" he asked in a barely audible voice. His tone was full of hurt and guilt.

She didn't move.

"If it makes you that upset then I'll just tell them to replace me with another actor. Here, I'll go right now." He loosened his grip on her.

She objected and pulled him back against her, their chests touching now. "Don't leave me, Senri," she muttered. "Stay."

He blew at a stray strand of hair on the side of his face. He was conflicted. "Then what do you want me to do?" He wanted to raise his raise and yell too, but he knew that doing that would push him back to square one.

She raised her eyes and bore them right into his asking, "You'll do anything?"

"Anything for you," he assured her.

She pushed herself up and pulled him along, passing door after door in the hallway. He stood outside of the women's dressing room, waiting patiently so that she could retrieve her frilly oversized tote bag.

They continued walking wordlessly and he followed her dutifully, his hands shoved into his pockets. She stopped in front of a bright red door. He sent her a questioning gaze, "the showers?"

She ushered him in, "We are going to scrub you with as many bars of soap as it takes until you shine and sparkle from cleanliness." She seemed to pause to think and then quickly supplied, "And that mouth of yours will have to be washed inside and out with twice the amount of soap."

He grimaced as she locked and deadbolted the door behind them.

* * *

She handed him a maroon towel when he stepped out, quivering from the lack of heat. He responded to her amused smile with an irate glare. "You know Rima, I only did this because I love you so much. However, I thought I should remind you that you won't be granted a pardon from my revenge."

Her laughter rang throughout the room, "Well, I love you too, and I hope that whatever you have planned can top what I did today."

He growled at her, "you're taunting me."

"Why shouldn't I?" she raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Oh and one more thing, Senri."

"What?" his annoyance was clearly obvious.

"Promise me you will never kiss a dog again."

**End.**

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**Reviews** and **favorites** are super loved and appreciated!

Just a few clicks and buttons to give me some feedback can make my day and happy author = more fics and more updates!

Please point out any grammatical mistakes/ errors if you catch any. I don't have a beta so I want to give you guys the best than I can produce.

Thanks for reading and see you all next time!


	2. Enigma

I'm back again with another one for you guys. I realize that lately, this couple hasn't been receiving a lot of fanfiction love and they deserve more, especially after that TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE ending they got in the manga.

I was honestly disappointed. I followed VK all the way until its last chapter and this is all I get? Sigh, whatever. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters are NOT mine.

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**Behind the Curtain  
Act 2  
Enigma**

Summary:_ He's too upset to focus on work. Determined to put his mind at ease, he confronts his problem headfirst._

He frowned irritably.

His left eyebrow twitched.

The rumored "enigmatic" model wasn't cooperating. Sure, his pale skin was smooth and unblemished. Yes, his regal nose was perfectly straight and refined. But even through the eyes of any distant passerby, it was evident that something was _very_ off with the living Adonis.

"Shiki-san, please, _please_ try to smile." The photographer raked her fingers against her scalp, further disheveling her already messy updo. She knew he was a handsome being and an experienced professional, but the scowl on his face could not be overlooked.

As much as that expression impeccably suited his face, it did not mix well with the spring, nature-embracing theme of the shoot. He grunted in response and nodded slightly in understanding.

Forcibly, the corners of his lips tugged outwards into what appeared to be a mysterious, fitting smile. His grey eyes remained the same as usual; blank and void of emotions.

The photographer quickly jumped back into her half-squat position and continued from where she had left off earlier. The air was still just as suffocating and heavy with pent up anger, but any kind of cooperation was better than none.

He sighed. As much as he had tried to collect his thoughts, he just could not focus. He was borderlining his snapping point. "Yahashi-san, is it possible to finish the last 3 scenes tomorrow? I apologize for bringing this up so late, but I have urgent, unfinished business that I can't postpone."

He didn't provide much context, but his tone was convincing enough to the person behind the camera. "Of course, Shiki-san. This means that we will have to adjust the schedule for tomorrow, but I will work out the details with your manager tonight. Have a good evening!"

"Ummpf, thanks for the hard work everyone." Quietly, he slipped off the wooden bench and made his way to the dressing room. He was gone before she could reply and she let out a shaky breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

The rumors only added on to her intrinsic curiosity that arose the moment Shiki Senri walked through the door. He was definitely a strange, rare creature. She was determined to figure out exactly what kind of person her subject was.

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The door slammed shut. She knew who had entered the room without having to turn around. She hadn't expected his confrontation to be so soon though; the photo shoot wasn't scheduled to finish until 6 PM and the sun was still up and shining.

'_Well it's now or later. Might as well get this over with before his anger heightens.'_ She set her magazine face down beside the table lamp and turned around to face the entrance of the room. She could already feel the moisture collect on her palms as she clenched the comforter with more force.

"Senri, I –"

"Don't."

She hesitantly met his gaze. She took in his expression with an audible gasp. His usually silver orbs were unreadable, but she could feel the fury and irritation pierce through her soul like a sharp, polished arrowhead.

He stalked across the floor, his footsteps purposefully heavy and deliberate. She inched backwards on the comforter as he approached.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled. His verbal assault underrepresented his actual inner turmoil.

"You know it's not like that," she whispered meekly. "I don't know what you heard, but –"

"But what? It doesn't change the fact that you felt it was too trivial to tell me directly and I had to find out from Ichijou! I can't believe you would do this to me…to us," he growled, his face burrowed into the crook of her neck, the reverberations seeped into her skin and throughout her body.

She felt even weaker and guiltier. She hadn't expected his response to be so dramatic at the time, but now she instantly regretted her mistake. "This doesn't change anything, you know?"

"Oh really now?" he asked sarcastically. "Explain, because I don't exactly understand why the hell you would agree to something so ludicrous if you knew that it would be completely pointless."

"Mother kept insisting that I see him so I finally relented. It's just a lunch meet. I can't even call it a date because I barely know the guy!" She looked away to her left, afraid of even looking at his expression.

"Why would you say yes then? I don't understand, Rima."

"You know…" she started nervously, her fingers brushing against her forearm. He sends her a questioning glance, urging her to continue.

She wanted to just die right then and there. _'This is so embarrassing.' _She collected herself and spoke as quickly as she could, "Mother has been insisting that I getmarriedsoonsoourclanwillhaveanheir."

He loosens his grip on her, "Why didn't you just tell me sooner?"

"It's not like you have a better solution to this! You know how persistent she can be and it's obvious that I can't just brush off her efforts forever!" she crossed her arms.

"I do actually," he stated calmly.

"You do?" her head cocked to the side.

He nodded, "yeah, I have a few ideas. Does the order matter?"

"What order?" He wasn't making any sense to her.

"The order of what you need to do first," he stated as if it was so obvious.

"I don't see how that's relevant to my problems," she argued.

"Well, if I could suggest an alternative to wasting your time meeting _Mr. I Need a Third Party Intervention to Get a Girl_ for some kind of lousy date…"

She was losing her patience, "So? What's your plan Shiki?"

"Cancel the meeting first," he ordered. "And give me your phone."

She lifted a perfectly manicured French nail and pointed to the object on the edge of the nightstand. He reached over to grab it.

Without comment, he swiftly scanned through the lines and scrolled through her message box. "Dear Kami, has he been sending you all these cheesy texts?"

"Now do you finally believe me when I tell you that there's no hope?" she probed.

He nodded, "poor bastard can't take a hint."

He rotated her phone and his fingers flew across the screen as he typed out a long message. "Hey, don't be too harsh, okay?"

He didn't bother to proofread before sending it.

She frowned, "that wasn't necessary."

"Whatever. He won't be bothering you anymore from now on." He placed it back where he found it under her scrutinizing glare.

"Okay, that's done. What's next?"

His sudden grin took her by surprise. He sauntered towards her. "Senri?"

He leaned over her shoulder so that his lips caressed her earlobe. "We make your mother that grandkid she wanted."

* * *

"Is this the last scene?"

Sori Yahashi wiped her camera lens for the nth time that afternoon. "Yes, Shiki-san. Sorry for taking so long."

"Well then, I'm off. Have a nice weekend Yahashi-san."

"Ahh-h, you too Shiki-san!"

That was unexpected; something was definitely off.

For some reason, her model would not stop smiling.

Frustrated, she went through the pictures again, but came up empty-handed. There was still no explanation to his sudden mood shift.

Shiki Senri was truly an unsolvable mystery.

**End.**

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Sorry if this was a bit confusing! I would have written more, but then I'd have to change the rating of this story (blushes). I was planning to post this sooner, but my birthday was yesterday and I didn't get the chance to go over it one last time.

Please inform me if there are any grammatical errors or mistakes of any kind. I try to edit thoroughly, but I can't always catch every mistake!

Lastly, please leave me a **REVIEW** or **FAVORITE** this, because positive feedback is really my fuel to writing faster and posting more often.


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